2005 News

Illinois Department of Professional Regulation Changes Its Requirements for Internationally Educated Nurses

Click here to read a letter to the Illinois State Board of Nursing (dated 10/13/05) addressing statements made in the document "License Regulations-Internationally Educated Nurses" posted on the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation/Division of Professional Regulation Web site.

PHILADELPHIA, PA — SEPTEMBER 6, 2005 (Updated Sept. 08, 2005) — Internationally educated nurses who wish to practice in the state of Illinois should be advised that the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation has changed its requirements, effective July 28, 2005.

Illinois now accepts the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) Credentials Evaluation Service (CES) Healthcare Profession & Science Course-by-Course Report for both initial and endorsement licensure of both Registered Nurses and Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurses.

Prior to July 28, 2005, Illinois required internationally educated registered nurses to hold a CGFNS Certification Program (CP) Certificate. At the present time, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation will continue to accept the CGFNS Certification Program (CP) Certificate from those registered nurses who have obtained a CP Certificate. CGFNS Certification Program applicants and certificate holders who are seeking licensure in Illinois should contact the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation for guidance.

"Illinois has been using the CGFNS Certification Program as a requirement for internationally educated registered nurses for many years, said Barbara L. Nichols, DHL, MS, RN, FAAN, and Chief Executive Officer of CGFNS. "The Certification Program was initiated in 1978. Certification Program certificate holders pass a credentials evaluation and the CGFNS Qualifying Exam^SM of Nursing Knowledge, given at one of CGFNS’s 55 international test locations."

"CGFNS established the Credentials Evaluation Service (CES) in 1993 to analyze and compare the education and licensure of international applicants to U.S. standards and expectations," continued Nichols. "There is no predictor exam of nursing knowledge associated with the CES program."

The CGFNS Credentials Evaluation Service (CES) is an Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation approved nursing credentialing evaluation service as required by the new regulation. CES reports are distributed electronically to state boards of nursing who use this service.